Vou defender todos os dias da minha vida até eu ver uma mudança real,en, and even when I see real change, I will still advocate.

Demetrius Minor

My name is Demetrius Minor. I am twenty-years-old, and I am from Bridgeton, New Jersey. I have lived all over New Jersey due to my placement in childcare services at the age of nine. As a child I always wanted to be a lawyer or do something that involved helping people. My mothers always used to tell me that I was too smart for my age and that I need to stay out of adults’ conversations. For some reason I always loved to be around older people. Being around older people gave me a very different outlook on life.

At the age of sixteen I was charged with murder and several other charges. I was eventually misled into taking a plea that would put me behind bars for at least twenty-five years of my life. As crazy as it may sound, I was honestly under the impression that twenty-five years behind bars would change me and make me a better person. I felt like I had caused so much hardship for myself and other people who were only trying to help me. I was also a victim of abuse, which was only part of the reason I began to act out. I was eventually sent to more than twenty different foster homes and programs, some of the worst.

It took me some time, but I now realize that the courts do not care about my broken childhood, mental health or even the fact that the victim of my crime was an abusive foster parent who I did report to a caseworker. Em troca, the caseworker told me that if I got moved I could be sent to a worse home. The truth is the courts looked at me and my case as just another black teen who murdered someone and did not deserve to be rehabilitated or to even be a part of and live in society. I was eventually sentenced as an adult and sent to an adult prison where the abuse of juveniles is rampant.

There is very little rehabilitation available in prison and the programs that are made available to prisoners are outdated and poorly ran. Sometimes I believe that the Department of Corrections does not want prisoners to be rehabilitated because it would put certain people out of a job. The abuse and use of force by officers on prisoners can be compared to the Freddie Gray incident involving the Baltimore City Police Department. It was said to me in a simple way when I first entered this system, “Since you are an inmate and you wear tan, you are pathetic and treated like cattle.”

The sad truth is I could honestly do this time and transform into a worse person than I was when I entered prison. I could honestly leave a worse person and the system would not care. I thank God that I&#8217;ve decided to change my ways and not become another statistic and succumb to the negative vices that are very much present in adult correctional facilities. Em vez, I spend my time reading, writing and educating myself on criminal law, business management and social economics. I have learned that there are thousands of youth being incarcerated as adults each year and most of these youth come from communities where poverty and crime are prevalent. Very little is being done to fix these communities and now youth are paying the price.

I have made a promise to myself that I will advocate every day of my life until I see real change, and even when I see real change, I will still advocate. Most of my days are spent advocating for those who cannot advocate for themselves because they are illiterate or have other problems. It seems as if society is now allowing the government to jail the mentally ill and addicted.

I really do feel like it is time for major reform, not patchwork to this broken system. Patchwork to this broken system will delay and possibly prevent any chance of real reform. The reform must start first with the way judges sentence individuals. Everything should be considered, and sentences should be geared toward rehabilitation. There should also be special consideration and alternatives to keep juveniles out of adult prisons. Reform must affect all prisons. Reform must require Corrections Officers be retrained. I have family who worked in the Department of Corrections and still work in the Department of Corrections, and I&#8217;ve been told officers are trained to look at every inmate as a possible threat and to be mindful that the inmate is in prison for punishment and not rehabilitation. It is time that Correctional Officers be trained to correto. All of the excessive force, beatings and abuse that prisoners receive from officers are taught to Correctional Officers in the Academy and on the job by their colleagues and superiors.

Until there is major reform, prisons will continue to be looked at as a place for people who do not belong in society, rather than a place where people go to pay their debt to society, be rehabilitated and prepare to reenter society as a productive citizens.

The media and prison officials will continue to try to make the public believe that everybody in prison belongs in prison and is violent and a menace to society. It&#8217;s funny because I thought the same thing until I found out the majority of people in prison are not violent and are in prison for nonviolent crimes. I&#8217;ve also realized that those committed to prison for violent crimes are highly likely not to re-offend and have high chance for successful rehabilitation.

I can go on, but I won&#8217;t. Please let this be an open and honest reflection of who I am and my thoughts and opinions on juvenile justice and the criminal justice system. I am not perfect and there are still things I need to work on, my writing being one. What I consider important is the fact that I am aware of my flaws, and I am trying to work on them. I am searching for any help, mentors and positive support. I would love to hear from you.

My goals: to learn more about the criminal justice system; continue to raise awareness of juveniles sentenced as adults; to meet positive people; build a better support system for myself and those like me; and publish a book. I also want to get degrees in Criminal Justice, Business Management and Sociology.

4 responses to “Demetrius Minor”

The Million Mask March started off as a single protest in Washington D.C. em 2013. It has since grown in to what has been dubbed the largest mass protest in human history with over 500 simultaneous protest around the world. Also with countless nation and world wide street actions on a weekly and monthly basis including such things as clothing drives, street protests, feeding the homeless and in some cases traveling to help those in times of need.